For transporting wheelchair users in motor vehicles it is known for a wheelchair user together with his wheelchair to be pushed into a motor vehicle of suitable size, for example by means of a ramp or a lift device, and there secured to prevent slippage. Backrest arrangements are also known which are fixed to the vehicle and which, if required, are extended against the back of the wheelchair user in a seated position. Particularly in the case of sudden braking or a traffic accident involving the motor vehicle, such a backrest arrangement offers support for the back and head region of the wheelchair user so that the user is not flung rearward.
Utility model DE 20 2005 016 461.5 to the present applicant describes such a backrest arrangement in which the backrest is fitted to a side wall of a motor vehicle by means of pivotal arms. The pivotal arms are pivotable about a vertical axis and make it possible for the backrest to be pivoted out if required to the back position of the wheelchair user as soon as the latter has assumed the final seating position in the motor vehicle. The backrest arrangement somewhat constricts the vehicle interior, in particular if no wheelchair users are to be transported. In addition, fixing the backrest to the side wall has the disadvantage that the weight of the backrest acts on the vehicle wall by way of the lever of the pivotal arms. The fixing to the vehicle wall must therefore be of a correspondingly large nature depending on the respective weight and lever length involved. Short pivotal arms admittedly reduce the lever effect, but at the same time reduce the adjustability of the backrest position transversely to the direction of travel. The wheelchair user therefore always has to sit against the vehicle wall. Particularly wide wheelchairs could project laterally beyond the backrest arrangement and be inadequately supported.
Backrests are also known that are inserted into the vehicle floor behind the respective wheelchair so that the wheelchair user and the wheelchair are arranged and fixed immediately in front of the backrest. A disadvantage in that respect is the difficulty in handling such backrests. To move a wheelchair in and out of the vehicle, it is necessary for such a plug-in backrest to be removed from its position and put into intermediate storage elsewhere. In addition, such a backrest is really far from the inserted position in the vehicle floor. Suitably sturdy supports are thus required to be able to carry the correspondingly high forces produced by the head part, which is at the top of the backrest.